Authors(s) and Affiliation(s)

Abstract

This paper deals with the multiple insecurities affecting combined rainfed farming systems in the Ishkamesh district of Takhar Province in Northern Afghanistan. It looks at how local natural resource management practices work out under conditions of recurrent and severe drought and how pasture access regimes and rainfed farming practices structure intergroup relations in an area that was affected by heavy fighting during Soviet occupation and civil war in Afghanistan. Affected by scarcity of land, deficiency of water, restricted income opportunities and restricted access to education and health facilities, the threats to human security of local populations are identified and security strategies examined